One Resident Critically Injured, Others Displaced In Schaumburg Fire

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (STMW) – One resident was critically injured and others displaced in a fire Saturday morning at their Schaumburg apartment complex.

The blaze at 1234 Valley Lake Drive started sometime before 6 a.m. and was fought by crews from multiple surrounding fire departments, a firefighter said.

The fire apparently began in the bedroom of a 4th floor unit in the 7-story apartment complex, Schaumburg Fire Dept. Capt. John Steele said. The female resident of the apartment was taken to Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village, Steele said.

A firefighter also suffered a shoulder injury while fighting the fire, Steele said. The firefighter did not require hospitalization.

Some residents “were escorted from the building,” Steele said, noting none of them were “in serious danger.”

The fire was confined to that one 4th floor unit, Steele said. No other units were damaged by the fire but there was smoke damage to the hallway and some windows had to broken for ventilation, Steele said. Some units of the apartment complex are uninhabitable and the Schaumburg Building Department, along with the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago, were working with the displaced residents to get them some temporary shelter.

The fire is believed to have originated in the bedroom of the 4th floor unit, but the cause was still under investigation later Saturday. Fire investigators had not yet had a chance to speak to the resident of that unit because she is in critical condition, he said.